Belly (1998)

Director:

Hype Williams

Writers:

Anthony Bodden (story) &
Nas (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

4 November 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Money, power, respect... but who's got your back?

Plot:

A pair of vicious black gangsters have spiritual awakenings.

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Ghetto | Cannabis | Hip Hop | African American

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

DMX	...	Tommy 'Buns' Bundy
Nas	...	Sincere
Hassan Johnson	...	Mark
Taral Hicks	...	Kisha
Tionne 'T-Boz' Watkins	...	Tionne
Oliver 'Power' Grant	...	Knowledge (as Power)
Louie Rankin	...	Lennox
Stan Drayton	...	Wise (as Stanley Drayton)
James Parris	...	LaKid
Method Man	...	Shameek
Kurt Loder	...	Himself
Ben Chavis	...	Rev. Saviour (as Minister Benjamin F. Muhammed)
Tyrin Turner	...	Big
Jay Black	...	Black
John 'B.J.' Bryant	...	Thug #1
Prince 'Blunt' Graham	...	Thug #2
Wondosas 'Kilo' Martin	...	Thug #3
Shaun Morrison	...	Housekeeper
Frank Vincent	...	Roger
Eric Keith McNeil	...	Shorty
Xavier Simmons	...	Young Tommy
LaVita Raynor	...	Kionna
Monica Michaels	...	Club Manager
Jen Gatien	...	Girl in Office (as Jennifer 'Nen' Gatien)
Anthony 'Az' Cruz	...	Born
David Edwards	...	Federal Agent
Jeffrey H. Kaufman	...	Federal Agent (as Jeffrey Kaufman)
Brant Spencer	...	Federal Agent
Adam Vignola	...	Federal Agent (as Adam C. Vignola)
Micaal Stevens	...	Killer
Michael Woodhouse	...	Older Barber
Tyrone Lewis	...	Younger Barber
Carmen Yannuzzi Jr.	...	Guard
Crystal N. Johnson	...	Knowledge's Cop Girlfriend
James Gresham	...	Speaker
Michael Manning	...	Teacher
Tony Devon	...	FBI Agent
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Akim Black	...	Church Member (uncredited)
Paul Borghese	...	Officer who arrests Tommy 'Buns' (uncredited)
Joe Crosson	...	Church member (uncredited)
Brother Eden Douglas	...	Night Assassin (uncredited)
Dufflyn Lammers	...	Poet / Wrath (uncredited)
Steve Nuke	...	FBI Agent (uncredited)
Sean Paul	...	Himself (uncredited)
Ronald 'Too Small' Small	...	Bodyguard (uncredited)
Nick Stellate	...	Cop (uncredited)

Directed by
Hype Williams

Writing credits
Anthony Bodden		(story) &
Nas		(story) &
Hype Williams		(story)
Hype Williams		(written by)

Produced by
James Bigwood	....	executive producer
Rj Harper	....	producer liaison
Larry Meistrich	....	producer
Edwin J. Nunez	....	producer
Ron Rotholz	....	producer
Robert Salerno	....	producer
Hype Williams	....	producer
Avram 'Butch' Kaplan	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Stephen Cullo

Cinematography by
Malik Hassan Sayeed		(director of photography) (as Malik Sayeed)

Film Editing by
David Leonard

Casting by
Winsome Sinclair

Production Design by
Regan Jackson

Art Direction by
Jennifer Chang Binns		(as Jennifer Chang)
Nicholas Lundy

Set Decoration by
Raquel Anita Parke
Carol Silverman

Costume Design by
June Ambrose

Makeup Department
Mary Aaron	....	makeup artist
Jane Choi	....	additional assistant makeup artist
Michele Paris	....	key makeup artist (as Michele Paris-Catanzarite)

Production Management
Bill Block	....	executive in charge of production
Kwesi Dickson	....	unit production manager: Jamaica
Richard Ford Jr.	....	production supervisor
Eitan Hakami	....	post-production supervisor
Dana Reid	....	executive in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Angelique Bones	....	second second assistant director
Sarah Gyllenstierna	....	assistant director

Art Department
Scott Canfield	....	set dresser
Karen Cusick	....	art department coordinator
Anthony Dimeo	....	property master
Rodrigo Guerrero	....	art department intern
Greg Izzo	....	special props
Clarissa Shanahan	....	painter
Little X.	....	visual consultant (as Julien Christian Lutz)

Sound Department
David Acord	....	boom operator
Steve Borne	....	sound designer (as Steve 'Iceman' Borne)
Bobby Johanson	....	adr mixer
Bruce Kitzmeyer	....	sound effects editor
Tod A. Maitland	....	sound mixer
Reggie McGuire	....	sound effects editor
Branka Mrkic	....	adr editor
Angela Organ	....	assistant adr editor
Michael Scott	....	boom operator
Dominick Tavella	....	sound re-recordist
Clive Taylor	....	sound editor: TV version

Visual Effects by
Andy Barrios	....	Inferno artist: main title, Rainmaker Digital
Eric Person	....	digital effects
Christopher Dusendschon	....	in-show optical process and effects compositor: THDX (uncredited)
Christopher Dusendschon	....	optical element Hazeltine colorist: THDX (uncredited)
Will McCoy	....	digital compositor (uncredited)

Stunts
Brother Eden Douglas	....	stunt performer (as Brother Douglas)
Peter Epstein	....	stunts
Joanne Lamstein	....	stunts
Julius LeFlore	....	stunt coordinator
Marcus Salgado	....	stunts
Mitchell Green	....	stunt performer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Terrence Laron Burke	....	grip
Brian Carmichael	....	video operator
Teofilo Colon Jr.	....	assistant to cinematographer
Lamont Crawford	....	key dolly grip
Ray Edwards	....	second assistant camera: Jamaica
Christian Epps	....	gaffer
James McMillan	....	key grip
Leigh Rathner	....	second assistant camera
Rick Robinson	....	camera operator
Darren Ryan	....	24 frame video operator
Lowell Schulman	....	key construction electric

Casting Department
Mel City	....	casting associate
David H. Kramer	....	adr voice casting
With Lacroix	....	casting assistant
Theron Smith	....	casting associate

Editorial Department
Laura Congleton	....	assistant editor
Keith Croket	....	associate editor
Bryan Ellenburg	....	executive in charge of post-production
Jim Passon	....	color timer
Patricia Sztaba	....	negative matcher
Stan Sztaba	....	negative matcher

Music Department
Barry Cole	....	music consultant
Stuart Levy	....	music editor
Lawrence Manchester	....	score mixer

Transportation Department
Mike Easter	....	transportation co-captain

Other crew
Steve Beeson	....	production accountant
Anthony Bodden	....	assistant to director
Anthony Bodden	....	consultant: grassroots
Cassandra Butcher	....	publicity consultant
Cassandra Butcher	....	unit publicist
Sam Connelly	....	production assistant
Guy Efrat	....	location scout
Andrea Greer	....	script supervisor
P.J. Haines	....	chef
Charlynne J. Hopson	....	assistant location manager
Celeste Jackson	....	assistant coordinator (as Celeste Peterka)
James D. Lee	....	assistant location manager
Rosemary Lombard	....	production coordinator
Maeve Mannion	....	production accountant: Jamaica
Keegan Martin	....	production assistant
Tim Masick	....	film-to-tape transfer
Ademola McMullen	....	key production assistant
Len Murach	....	location manager
Gayatri Persad	....	production coordinator: Jamaica
Shieed Pittman	....	location production assistant
Joaquin Diego Prange	....	location assistant
Cesar Quinones	....	location scout
Abdur Rahman	....	directorial assistant
Gingi Rochelle	....	equipment coordinator
Dana Terra	....	equipment coordinator: Jamaica
Mimi Turner	....	location scout
Rick Washburn	....	weapons coordinator
Ryder Washburn	....	assistant weapons coordinator
Ithiell Yisrael	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Big Dog Films

Distributors

• Artisan Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• Momentum Pictures (1998) (UK) (all media)
• Xscapade Pictures Ltd.

Other Companies

• Film Finances  completion guarantor
• Mega Playground  consultation, video dailies, post-production facility

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language, sexuality and drug use

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

Jamaica | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:MA | UK:18 | USA:R | Iceland:16 | Germany:16 | South Korea:18 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:R

Filming Locations:

Jamaica

Company:

Big Dog Films

Trivia:

The scene of Sincere (Nas) and the 12 year old boy on the park bench is a direct reference to the last verse from Nas' song "One Love", off his 1994 debut album Illmatic.

Quotes:

Sincere:I feel it's the only way. I don't feel a need to play the whole part in the entire movement. But, yo, if you just raise your family right, if I just live righteously, I be all right. Yo, my whole life is dedicated to change.

Movie Connections:

References The Godfather (1972)

Soundtrack:

Bam Bam

Derivative, but fantastic, see it

I really get p***ed off at movie critics sometimes. This is one of those times. I have insomnia, see what's on TV, check the rating (1 star out of 4) and almost pass it by, but decide to watch it for the camp value.

Why did critics hate this? Why do they in general hate movies like this? The film immediately reminded me of "The Harder They Come", "Pusher" (Nicolas Winding Refn's fantastic Danish film), "Laws of Gravity", "Kids", "Clerks", "Mean Streets", "Zebrahead", "The Killing of A Chinese Bookie", "Boogie Nights", "Rome, Open City" and "The Bicycle Thief". Why does it seem that film critics love neo-realism if its 'white', but usually hate it otherwise.

If you're a fan of these kinds of movies, give this one a chance. Unfortunately, with the unfavorable judgment from up on high that this film received, I doubt anyone will read these words. Darn critics. I don't usually insinuate things like this, but I have to wonder if a racial aspect is at play here, that maybe xenophobia deflected a lot of critics from giving this one a chance. Oh well, I loved it in any case.